Miller, Dutton to face off in November for 31st Congressional District

Veteran Republican legislators Rep. Gary Miller and state Sen. Bob Dutton topped the six-candidate field in the 31st Congressional District primary and will face off in November. Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar was a close third Tuesday in the top-two primary election.

Rounding out the field were Democrats Justin Kim, Renea Wickman and Rita Ramirez-Dean, in that order.

With all precincts reporting, Miller, R-Brea, was on top with 14,057 votes (26.7 percent), Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, second with 13,088 votes (24.9 percent) and Aguilar third with 12,016 votes (22.8 percent).

Doug Johnson, a fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, called Dutton's early tally a surprise.

"It was assumed Republican voters would split between Dutton and Miller, and Aguilar should have easily made the runoff," Johnson said Tuesday evening.

The 31st Congressional District includes San Bernardino, Colton, Redlands, Loma Linda, Rancho Cucamonga and part of Upland.

Miller was at his campaign headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga with about 40 supporters on Tuesday night. He said felt confident, despite months of being criticized by his opponents. Miller noted that he ran a positive campaign and never went negative.